Letters to Santa

The Washington Township Recreation Department has made arrangements with Santa to accept mail for delivery to the North Pole beginning November 25, 2013.

Township youngsters are encouraged to write a letter to Santa. Parents may either place the letter in the red drop box at the Recreation Department office at 50 Rock Road, or mail it to: Washington Township Recreation, 50 Rock Road, Long Valley, NJ 07853, Attn: Santa Claus.

All letters should include the child’s first and last name and complete return address so that a response may be mailed. Deadline is December 18, 2013. (no exceptions)

Youngsters will receive a personalized reply from Santa by Christmas.

Pictures With Santa

Hoffman’s Supply True Value in Long Valley is holding the annual Picture with Santa event on the first four Saturdays after Thanksgiving, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14 and 12/21 from 10am-2pm. This popular tradition raises money to support ICOWTA (The Interfaith Community Outreach of Washington Township Association). Every year Hoffman’s “adopts” local families to ensure a happy holiday is enjoyed by all in our community. Photos are free with a $5.00 donation and/or a new unwrapped toy.

Volunteers will be joining in the festivities, serving refreshments for all two legged and four legged guests. Come out, have fun and support a great cause!  Please don’t forget the leash!   Hoffman’s Supply is located on 35 East Mill Road, Long Valley only 4.5 miles west of Chester.  Any questions, contact leonaharrington@comcast.net.

Blood Drive on 11/29

Help Turn Black Friday into Red Friday!

Sign up to donate at the November 29^th Blood Drive:

Boy Scouts of America

American Red Cross Blood Drive

Friday, November 29^th, 2013

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Troop 236 Blood Drive

St. Marks Church, 59 Spring Lane Long Valley

Click here to schedule an appointment

You will first have to create a user name and password,

then sign up by searching the sponsor code:

Boy Scouts Long Valley

or

Search using 07853

Questions about eligibility please call our donor health line at 1-866-236-3276

On blood drive day be sure to eat well, drink plenty of liquids and bring ID

Questions? Please call or text Tony Cretella @ 908-447-2075

Toy Drive

Meeting Notes - October 18. 2013

After spending the first half of the meeting working on an unexpectedly and obnoxiously difficult duct tape craft, we completed work on our first key in the Brownie Quest - DISCOVER!  We then moved on to the first step of the next key...stay tuned to see what it will be!  We played some cooperative games and used what we learned to create a Troop Agreement that will help us to work as a team.  We also introduced our talking monkey, Fred Bob, to help remind us to respect each other's words and listen when our friends are speaking.  Each girl brought home a letter outlining her task for the next meeting, which is to lead her family in a healthy living activity.

Broadway Shows and Workshop

Troop 32 would like to invite you to the following events they are hosting:

BUILD A BUDDY-  Friday 12/6, for Daisies and Brownies

DANCING WITH THE STARS-  Friday 1/10, ideal for ages 9-13

CINDERELLA- on Broadway Friday 1/24, families welcome, ages 6 and up.
CLOWNING AROUND-  Friday 2/7, for all ages (recipients and those learning skills)

MATILDA-  on Broadway Friday 6/6, families welcome, ages 6 and up

More information is available on the troop's website.

Earning our Pets Badge

On Monday we visited Sandy Hill Equestrian Center in Chester as part of our work towards our Pets badge.  We learned how to clean and groom the horses and practiced on ponies Ladybug and Tupelo.  We toured the farm, learned what horses eat (hay, grass and grain), saw their stalls and paddocks, saw the indoor ring where people ride when the weather is bad, and even got to meet a couple of race horses and see the identification tattoos on their lips.  At the end of the tour we were able to watch a lesson and learn about different gaits (walk, trot and canter) and watch some jumping.  Thanks to Lauren and Kathy for sharing your barn and horses with us!

My Family Star

During your Brownie’s first adventure on the Brownie Quest, she discovered some of the talents and qualities that make her special.  Be sure to ask her how she describes herself.

Before our meeting on 10/18, she has an important job to do, and she needs your help!

Read the questions on the accompanying activity sheet and discuss them with your Brownie.  You can talk about a value of the Girl Scout Law that is especially important in your family.  Ask her to share specific examples of what it means to act on each of the values described in the Law.

Your Brownie can fill in the family star on page 51 of her Quest book, or fill in, cut out, and decorate the enclosed star.  Better yet, create a unique family star of your own using a paper plate, cardboard, aluminum foil, glitter, stickers, or whatever craft materials you have on hand.  If you are feeling especially ambitious, you could even try to create a 3-D star using the template posted earlier this week.

If you have time, ask your Brownie to read and discuss Chapter 1 of “The ELF Adventure” (page 10 - 15 of her Quest book) with you.  

Making a Family Star

Read the Girl Scout Law with your family

I will do my best to be
honest & fair,
friendly & helpful,
considerate & caring,
courageous & strong, and
responsible for what I say & do,
and to
respect myself & others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

•   What line from the Law is most important in your family?
•   Why?
•   Write your family’s favorite line and the reason it is your favorite in the center of your star.
•   An example could be COURAGEOUS  Sometimes it is hard to do what you know is right - that’s why being courageous is so important!
•   Who is in your family (mother, father, grandfather, aunt, sisters, brothers)?  Write their names in the points of your star.
•   What special quality or skill do your family members have?  Write those under their names.
•   After you fill in your star, decorate it if you want to.  Add colors, stickers, glitter, or whatever else you have handy and bring it to your next Brownie meeting to share with your Girl Scout sisters!

Meeting Notes - October 11, 2013

During this meeting, we began work on our Brownie Quest.  We discussed some of the things that makes each of us special and unlocked the first key on the first step of our Quest - Discovering Ourselves.  We then did a scavenger hunt to find clues to the second key - Discovering Our Values.  We discussed the values (things we think are important and that we try to live by) of the Girl Scout Law and gave examples of each.  The girls brought home a Family Star project to work on this week that will help them to unlock the third key.....stay tuned to find out what it is!

We also celebrated the International Day of the Girl by discussing the importance of education for girls.

• Globally, 66 million girls are out of school.  (UNICEF)
• There are 33 million fewer girls than boys in primary school.  (Education First)
• Girls with 8 years of education are 4 times less likely to be married as children.  (National Academies Press)
• A girl born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5.  (UNESCO)
• Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school.  (UNICEF)
• School is not free in over 50 countries.  (UNESCO)
• A girl on planet earth has a 1 in 4 chance of being born into poverty.  (The World Bank)
• A girl with an extra year of education can earn 20% more as an adult.  (The World Bank)

We read Beatrice's Dream: A Story of Kibera Slum by Karen Lynn Williams, which is the story of an orphaned girl in Nairobi and what she has to go through in order to get an education.

Our Photo Journalist for this meeting, Emma, captured some images from the evening.

3-D Star Template

You can access the template for the My Family Star project here; or for those who are looking for a way to pass the time during our days off from school next week and would like to make a 3-D Family Star for our 10/18 meeting, go for it!!!

Halloween Costume Drive

Vacation Camp - Gold Award Fundraiser

Fall Fundraiser Time!

It is time for the Girl Scouts "Mags & Munchies" Fall Fundraiser! Unlike the selling of Girl Scout cookies in the winter, the fall fundraiser is a bit of a mod-podge of products and sales strategies.  The ways you can raise money for our troop include:

• Your fall fundraising packet is in a box by my front door.  Please come pick it up ASAP so you can start selling!
• You will find a permission slip in your packet.  If your daughter is going to participate in the fall fundraiser, you must return the completed permission slip to me.  I will leave a pen in the box so you can fill it out and leave it when you pick up your packet.
• Magazine sales by mail ~ In your fundraising packet you will find a booklet for magazine sales by mail.  If you complete and return the booklet, our troop receives money whether people buy anything or not.  The people will receive just the one mailing and their information will not be sold.  There is a space for you to put a personal message, so you can write something like "No pressure!" or "Maybe a renewal or holiday gift?"
• Magazine sales in person ~ Also in your packet is a catalog and magazine order form so you can take orders in person.  If you do this, you must collect the money at the time the order is placed.  Checks should be made out to "Troop 5030".
• Magazine orders online ~ Also in your packet you will find a sheet of "business cards" and instructions for setting up a web page for magazine orders.  You can then share the link on Facebook or Twitter, email it to friends and family, and hand out the cards to people who would like to place orders but find themselves without cash or a checkbook.  I created one for Elizabeth yesterday to see how it works.  Check it out, see what you think, and let me know if you'd like help setting up one of your own.
• Nut sales ~ Lastly, in your packet you will find an order form for nut sales.  This works like cookie sales; you take orders on the sheet and then collect payment when the nuts are delivered just before Thanksgiving.  If you choose to take online magazine orders, you can also set it up to send emails to people asking them to order nuts.  Be sure these are people who are local or who you will see for the holidays, because you will be responsible for getting the nuts to the buyers.

The girls can earn various patches and rewards for their participation, and the troop gets a healthy percentage of the income to support our activities.  The fall fundraiser goes through October 27 and orders/monies are due to the troop by October 29 so we have time to input them into the website before the deadline.  

I would really, really appreciate if someone would volunteer to manage the fall fundraiser on behalf of the troop.  This task would include collecting order forms and magazine sale booklets, making sure the money gets to me so it can be deposited in a timely manner, entering the orders into the website, picking up the items when they arrive, sorting them, and getting them to the appropriate people for distribution.  Please let me know if you are willing to take this on.

Teen Beach Movie

A few Teen Beach Movie moves for your viewing pleasure...

My Promise, My Faith Pin

Everything in Girl Scouting is based on the Girl Scout Promise and Law. The Girl Scout Law includes many of the principles and values common to most faiths. Thus, while a secular organization, Girl Scouts has, since the movement began, encouraged girls to take spiritual journeys via their faiths' religious recognitions.

Girls of all grade levels can now earn the My Promise, My Faith pin developed by Girl Scouts of the USA. This pin, which girls can earn once a year, complements existing religious recognitions and allows all girls to further strengthen the connection between their faith and Girl Scouts. A girl earns the My Promise, My Faith pin by carefully examining the Girl Scout Law and directly tying it to tenets of her faith.

To learn more about helping your girl scout to earn this pin, visit GirlScouts.org.

Target Take Charge of Education

This is not related to Brownies but since we are all Cucinella families I wanted to put this out there because it is something I did not know until this week...

If you shop at Target (and who doesn't?) and you use a Red Card, you can register it at the Target website and Cucinella will get 1% back on all your purchases.  It doesn't seem like much, but I was at the BoE meeting this past week and the PTO received over $1,000 from this program, so it adds up!

That's all for my PSA!

The week of 9/16 in pictures

Last week we participated in two fun events - the Proud to be an American Girl Scout workshop hosted by Troop 1789 and the Long Valley 275th Anniversary Parade.